The first SUBMARINA was founded in 1977 by two United States Postal Service workers - Les Warfield and Ron Vickers. The partners and their wives, Lynn and Maureen, made the decision to leave the seasonally gray days of their Reno, Nevada hometown for the warmer San Diego, California climate.

Feeling San Diego lacked an excellent sub sandwich the couples joined forces and opened the first SUBMARINA restaurant in Poway, California. As Warfield said, "We had no experience, no capital and by every rule of business we should have failed. We didn't know an avocado from prosciutto, but we were willing to learn." The first official franchise shop opened in 1988.

Les Warfield and Ron Vickers are still the down-to-earth guys they've always been. The founders and their wives have recently retired, although they remain very interested in their 30-year-old concept. They are the first to marvel at how the idea they had so many years ago, has done so well. "I would attribute our success to product quality, a comfortable atmosphere and excellent customer service," says Vickers.